


raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

by chassecroise (rhapsodyinpink)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Disgustingly fluffy, F/M, Nerds in Love, lots of kittens, mostly post-reveal, repository for all my tumblr drabbles!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-05-20 13:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6008485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhapsodyinpink/pseuds/chassecroise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Adrinette drabbles filled with sugar and spice and everything nice!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette joins Adrien on the set for the annual SPCA photoshoot to raise awareness against animal abandonment, and gets roped into being a part of the shoot. After it ends, they decide to visit a cute local tea shop- but they get caught in the rain on the way. My ML Secret Valentine gift for [rainyram](http://rainyram.tumblr.com)!

Half an hour into the annual SPCA photoshoot to raise awareness against animal abandonment, it’s clear to everyone on set that the animal talent isn’t interested in listening to commands.

“Anita! Stop those kittens from messing up Monsieur Agreste’s hair immediately! They’re climbing all over him!” shouts the director at his harried assistant, who already has her hands full with an ancient arthritic Persian with big sad eyes.

“No, no, it’s fine! Let the kittens play, I don’t mind!” responds Adrien as Marinette bursts into giggles from the side of the set. It’s the third year in a row that her boyfriend has been tapped to participate as a model for the public awareness campaign, and the second that she’s joined him on set. And it’s as entertaining as ever. Her _petit minou_ looks right at home buried under a pile of kittens.

The director overhears Marinette’s merry peals of laughter and turns a critical eye onto her as she pulls out her phone and takes a video of the kittens sliding down Adrien’s carefully ironed black shirt and climbing on top of his head.

He’s seen Marinette on other photoshoots before, always smiling and always curious as she makes friends with everyone on set while she patiently waits for him to finish up. But he’s never actually paid close attention to her.

Now that he is, he likes what he sees. With the striking contrast of her bright blue eyes and dark hair, she could look great standing next to Adrien. They are an attractive couple, and he’s not surprised they’re together.

“You, there!” he calls to her. “You’re Adrien’s girlfriend, aren’t you? What’s your name?”

“ _Oui, je m'appelle_ Marinette,” she responds. “I’m sorry, am I disturbing the shoot? I can stand somewhere else if I’m in the way.”

He shakes his head. “No, no. I’m thinking. Would you like to join the shoot? I’ve been thinking that this shoot is missing a bit of chemistry. I think you’re the solution. What do you think?”

Marinette considers. Usually, when she joins Adrien on photoshoots, she stays on the sidelines and talks to the stylists and fashion designers, who always have the most interesting stories and advice to share—it’s one of the main fringe benefits of dating the son of a fashion tycoon.

But she’s never considered actually being a model (she doesn’t count the photoshoots she does with him as Ladybug and Chat Noir, that’s just part of the job)

Adrien smiles eagerly. He thinks this is a great idea.

“Yes, _Bugine—_ I mean, Marinette, come join me! There are too many cats here for me to handle all by myself.”

The nickname almost slips out of his mouth before he stops himself. In the years since they’ve learned about each other’s secret identities, it’s become a habit of theirs to use their hero nicknames as civilians all the time. Still, they try not to do it in front of other people—at least not his nicknames for her. As far as pet names go, _Chaton_ and _minou_ are fairly innocuous names, but all of Adrien’s bug-related nicknames are sure to raise at least a few eyebrows.

Marinette laughs, her eyes sparkling. “If you’re sure!”

The director nods. “Yes, yes, that’s exactly the kind of energy I’m looking for! And you’re already dressed perfectly. All you need is a cat. ANITA! Get Mademoiselle Marinette a cat to hold.”

“Yes, sir,” says Anita wearily, as an inky-black tomcat with bright green eyes who has been slinking around the cameras gingerly approaches Marinette and walks around her in a circle, before rubbing against her legs and purring loudly.

Marinette smiles and leans down to pat his head. “Ohhh, look at this _petit_ _matou_! Can I take the photo with him?”

“You want to take a photo with _Coquin_? Are you sure? He’s not a very nice cat, he’s quite capricious.”

“I’m sure,” responds Marinette, firmly, as Coquin starts to bat playfully at her pigtails.

“He reminds me of someone I know,” she adds, winking at Adrien, who grins and blushes. She laughs as a tiny white and black kitten reaches up and pats his flushed and rosy cheeks.

She walks over to Adrien and the two of them start to pose for the photographs, and even though most of the people on set are used to seeing Adrien and Marinette together at this point, even they’re surprised by how physically in sync the couple is, and how they seem to know exactly what the other is going to do. Within fifteen minutes, it’s clear that the photos have an incredible spark that wasn’t there before, and everyone is convinced that this is going to be the best version of the public awareness campaign yet.

“Adrien, your girlfriend is a natural!” exclaims Celine, the art director, as the shoot wraps up and the two of them are about to head home.

Adrien smiles proudly. “Yes, she’s got a lot of talents. I’m lucky to be with her.”

He plucks a plastic rose from a large bouquet sitting by the studio entrance and hands it to Marinette with a bow as Celine smiles and shakes her head. “This is for you, my lady. Job well done!”

“ _Merci,_ _mon chaton,_ ” says Marinette with a giggle as she pecks him on the cheek.

The sky is a murky pearl grey and is quickly getting darker as they head out the studio door, but distracted by the thought of all the cute kittens and warmed by the many compliments they’ve received over the past hour, they don’t even notice.

Adrien looks at his watch. “So, I don’t need to be home for another hour. What do you want to do?”

She considers. “Well, the bakery is too far from here, but there’s a cute tea shop just down the street that Alya and I went to last week. Do you want to go there?”

“Sure, I’d love to,” says Adrien. He shivers as a brisk breeze rushes past. “I could use some hot tea, the wind is really picking up.”

“Yay! I’m dying to try the jasmine flavor—” she stops as two raindrops plop right onto her head. She looks up.

“Uh oh.”

“What is it?” asks Adrien.

“Did you bring your umbrella?” she asks nervously.

“No, why?” he responds, raising an eyebrow.

In two seconds, Adrien has his answer, and his eyes open wide with surprise as the heavens open up and the monsoon begins. Marinette grabs his hand and sprints down the street, and he laughs uncontrollably as she punts through the sheets of rain towards the door of the café and yanks it open.

The waitresses look on in shock as the two soaked teenagers breathlessly tumble into the window corner booth. After a few moments, the two of them finally gather their bearings, and Adrien calls for two menus as Marinette smiles down at her rose, which is covered with raindrops, but is still intact.

Adrien grins. “Good thing it’s plastic, eh? If it was real, it would have fallen apart in the rain.”

“You’re impossible,” says Marinette, laughing and bopping him him on the nose with the rose as the waitress returns to take their order.

As they wait, they sit in a comfortable silence, watching the rain pitter-patter against the window until she returns with two piping hot cups of tea.

As she walks away, Adrien leans across the tiny table. “Hey, Marinette?”

“Hmm?”

“ _Je t'aime_.”

“I know,” she responds with a cheeky smile, blowing a steamy kiss through the air. “ _Je t’aime aussi_.”

 


	2. it was you ❤️

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien receives a lovely little surprise on the morning of his 16th birthday. A birthday drabble for my friend [angiensca](http://angiensca.tumblr.com)!

When Adrien wakes up on the morning of his 16th birthday, he thinks about how many things have changed in his life over the past year. There’s a lot to reflect on; from the friends he’s made to his adventures as Chat Noir, to the fact that his father finally seems to be opening up again, if only a little bit, to the best part of all—finally becoming real friends with Marinette, and maybe even more.

It’s been a few weeks since they both learned about each other’s identities, and the most surprising thing about finding out was how right it all seemed. _Of course it’s you_ , he’d thought when Ladybug finally dropped her transformation to reveal Marinette, and the expression on her face when he dropped his reflected his own feelings—relief, happiness, excitement.

Since then, they’ve been spending a lot of time together, and even though Adrien feels more strongly about his lady than ever, he’s not sure if she feels the same way. Still, he has noticed that she’s stopped pushing him away when he kisses her hand during battles and she’s been flirting back even more than usual—even if it’s just when she’s Ladybug. As Marinette, she’s sweet as pie, but no more than that.

But that’s okay. Adrien wants to ask Marinette out on a date, but he doesn’t want to do it until he’s sure that she’s interested and comfortable with the idea. He values her friendship too much to make things uncomfortable between them just because of his own feelings.

Adrien walks over to his closet and pulls out the pale blue scarf he received from his father for his last birthday. He’s only worn a few times since then, and his father has never said anything, but perhaps today he will.

As he wraps the scarf around his neck, his phone buzzes and lights up. It’s a message from Marinette.

“Happy Birthday, _chaton!!_ See you at school! xxx ”

He smiles. It’s fitting that the first person to wish him happy birthday is his favorite person in the world. He picks up his phone and quickly types a reply and sends it off.  

“Thanks, Marinette! You’re the first person to wish me Happy Birthday today! :)”

He watches as the bubbles pop up and stay there for several minutes before they disappear completely. And then comes the reply.

“Hold on :D”

He raises his eyebrows at the message. Clearly she was typing a longer message, but she erased it. What was she going to say?

And then, in about thirty seconds, it happens.

He receives a birthday message from Alya. Then Nino. Then Rose, Mylene, Juleka, Max, and Kim. Alix follows, and then Nathanael, and in a matter of minutes, he’s received messages from every single person in class.

Adrien stares down at his phone in astonishment. So many messages, all at once? How is it possible?

It has to be because of Marinette.  

“Was that you?” he quickly texts her back.

“;)” is the only reply he receives.

Adrien laughs and drops the phone on the bed and continues to get ready for school. He wolfs down his birthday breakfast (one croissant and a glass of juice doesn’t take much time) and rushes out the door, where the Gorilla is waiting for him with the car.

To his surprise, even his usually grumpy bodyguard seems to have a smile dancing around his lips today, but maybe Adrien’s just seeing things with rose glasses. He’s been doing that a lot lately, ever since he became friends with Marinette.

As they pull up to the entrance of Francoise-Dupont, Adrien’s jaw drops as he sees Marinette standing at the bottom of the steps waiting for him. She’s holding onto what looks like at least 100 heart shaped balloons, her feet barely touching the ground, and wearing the hugest grin he’s ever seen on her face. The sight is so overwhelming that Adrien almost misses the small gift bag sitting by her feet as well.

He throws open the car door and runs up to her, laughing with delighted surprise as he grabs onto the balloon strings, which are threatening to lift his friend up into the sky.

“Marinette, what is all this?”

“It’s your birthday surprise!”

She looks over at the Gorilla, who has parked the car and is standing a short distance away. “Thanks for being so willing to do this on such short notice, monsieur!”

Adrien looks back and forth between them in surprise. “Do what?”

Marinette giggles blithely. “Well, we can’t carry the balloons into the school, so I called him to take them back to the mansion.”

Adrien raises an eyebrow. “How do you have Gorilla’s phone number?”

Marinette grins, sheepish. “I…might have gone through your contacts the other day when you weren’t looking. Anyway! Take a look at your present—I hope you like it!”

Adrien bends down and picks the bag up while Marinette hands the balloons over to the Gorilla, missing his barely contained laughter. 

He sifts through the sparkly tissue paper to find a bright blue hat, professionally handmade, clearly with a lot of love. He stares at it as he realizes it’s the same color as his scarf, and it all comes to him in a flash.

The scarf he received last year wasn’t from his father. It was from Marinette. And she never told him.

As he turns to look at her, he can see her eyes sparkling with joy and pleasure, and suddenly he feels breathless.

“—It was you!” he whispers.

“What was me?” says Marinette, curiously.

“The scarf I got last year…it was from you, wasn’t it?”

Marinette blushes, her cheeks turning a sweet red. “Yes, it was. I wanted to give it to you in person, but I chickened out. But not this year. Do you like it?”

Adrien’s eyes suddenly fill with tears. “I love it.”

As he rushes to her and envelops her in a grateful hug, Marinette can feel a world of words unsaid. She smiles as she wraps her arms around him and squeezes tight.

Right now, Adrien might be a little bit more than a friend and a little bit less than a boyfriend, but one thing’s for sure: her love for him is as boundless as the sea, and she’s always going to stand by his side, wherever the future leads.


	3. fairy lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette comes home from work to find her boyfriend tangled up in fairy lights instead of at Milan Fashion Week, where he's supposed to be. A birthday drabble for my friend [adjit](http://adjit.tumblr.com)!

Marinette opens the door to her apartment after a long day at work to find her boyfriend lying on the living room rug, tangled up in a massive pile of fairy lights instead of walking down the runway at Milan Fashion Week like he’s supposed to be.

“What are you doing, _minou_?” she exclaims. “I thought you weren’t returning from Italy until next week! And what is all this?”

Adrien smiles bashfully at her. “I missed you. And I wanted to surprise you by decorating the apartment with these, since I know you like them. I think I’m a little in over my head though. I probably should have gotten Nino or Alya to help.”  

“ _Mon chaton_ , you didn’t have to do that!” replies Marinette as she kneels on the floor and starts untangling her boyfriend from the strings of lights, trying to hold back her laughter. As talented as Adrien is at so many things, he’s never been particularly handy with practical skills.    

As soon as she manages to get his arms free, Adrien wraps them around her in a bear hug and tackles her to the ground, peppering her neck and cheek with kisses.

“Nooooo!” she squeals, bursting into giggles as Adrien presses his lips to her ear with a little peck.

“ _Bon anniversaire_ , my lady,” he whispers.

“Wait, what?”

Adrien pulls back and stares at his girlfriend in disbelief. “Are you telling me you forgot about your own birthday?”

Marinette sits up and blinks slowly as she recalls the many missed calls and texts she hasn’t even bothered to read all day. She’s been overwhelmed at work, designing next year’s spring collection, and it hasn’t even occurred to her how quickly time has flown. She figured she’d look at her phone again later in the evening, when she had more time.

No wonder Alya asked her last week if she would have been free tonight.

It had seemed like an absurd question at the time; what working woman has time to hang out for hours on a Tuesday night? 

And yet now it all makes sense.

“Oh, _ma princesse_ , you’ve got to learn how to take a break sometimes,” Adrien says with a sigh, pushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.

Marinette turns to look at his gentle, caring face, and her heart swells with warmth and gratitude. She knows he’s probably in trouble for skipping out on this big show, and he did it just so he could be with her on her special day. A special day that even she didn’t remember.

“Nope,” says Adrien, observing her expression. “I can tell that you’re concerned about me missing out on the show. There’s nothing to be worried about. I talked to the designer and convinced her that the suits I was supposed to wear would look better on a dark haired model instead. You should see the guy they roped in. He’s a dead ringer for Prince Ali.”

“Sounds like you had all of this planned out!” says Marinette with a fond smile.

 “I did,” says Adrien.  “Well, most of it, anyway,” he adds with a shrug as he looks around at the scattered fairy lights. “I thought I’d have all of this and the blanket fort set up by the time you got back, but I underestimated the power of power cord tangles.” 

“You wanted to set up a blanket fort for me?”

“I brought some cookies from your parents’ bakery, too.”

Marinette laughs. “You know I love you, right?”

“I know,” replies Adrien, grinning.

“Okay…so if we’re going to have fairy lights and a blanket fort sleepover party, we should probably get started. I’m putting you on hot cookie duty while I set up the fort.” 

“Hot cookie duty?”

“Yes. Go to the microwave and warm up the cookies while I set these up,” commands Marinette as she moves the lights out of the way and starts pushing the couches and chairs together and drapes the blankets over them.

“Yes, ma’am!” says Adrien with a salute. He quickly finishes the task and places the warm gooey cookies on a fancy plate before watching in admiration as Marinette quickly and expertly loops the fairy lights around the bay windows.

As she hangs the final string up, he bursts into applause, and she bows dramatically before turning the lights off and turning the apartment into a sparkling wonderland.

He walks towards her with the plate of cookies, so warm from the microwave that the smoke is still curling into the air like a cat’s tail.

“I think it’s time for mademoiselle to receive a special reward for doing such a spectacular job!”

Marinette takes a cookie off the plate and bops Adrien on the nose with the tip of a chocolate chip before sliding it down and popping it into his mouth as his eyes widen with surprise. 

“You’re my reward,” she says with a smirk, before dragging her boyfriend by the collar inside the blanket fort and whispering some distinctly unladylike things into his ear.

Once he’s as red as a freshly bloomed rose, she grins. “I think I’ll take a cookie now.”

“As you wish, my lady,” he manages to whisper as she giggles merrily, kissing him on the cheek.

“Thanks for making this such a nice birthday, _minou_. You’re the best,” she adds with a contented sigh before snuggling into the crook of his neck.


	4. imprinting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette visit her uncle's farm in the French countryside.

_Peeeeep! Peep peep peeeeeeeeeep!_

“What’s happening?” grumbles Plagg from Adrien’s bag, irritated at the interruption of his mid-afternoon nap.

“I think that this little chick thinks that Adrien is its mother!” says Marinette, giggling as her boyfriend kneels down to pick up the fluffy little bird. The two of them have come on a two week summer holiday to her uncle’s farm out in the French countryside, and all of the animals seem to be as enamored by Adrien as she was the first time she saw him.

Especially the chickens, which is kind of ironic, considering that Adrien is the embodiment of a cat. But she supposes that opposites attract. Or that they’re somehow attracted to the smell of cinnamon and sugar, which is what she swears he smells like sometimes (she knows it’s crazy, but she swears it’s true)

The little chick peers intently at Adrien before burrowing into his hands and letting out a new flurry of peeps.

“Plagg, do you understand what it’s saying?” asks Adrien.

“No,” says Plagg flatly. “I speak many languages, but chicken is not one of them.”

Adrien shrugs and smiles. “Well, I guess I’ll have to figure it out by myself, now that I’m this little chicken’s mother! Does that make me Coq Noir, instead of Chat Noir?”

Marinette groans. “ _Chaton_ , you are not Coq Noir, Cheval Noir, or Cochon Noir!”

Adrien smirks. “Looks like someone’s jealous that I’m more popular with the animals than she is!”

“You wish,” says Marinette, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, all the cats love me more than you,” she adds, sticking out her tongue.

“ _Ma princesse_ , no other cat could possibly love you as much as this one,” responds Adrien seductively with a wink, accompanied by the increasingly loud peeps of the baby chicken.

“Ahh, get a room, will you?” complains Plagg as Marinette giggles merrily. He’s gonna need a lot of camembert to handle two more weeks of farm shenanigans with these two lovebirds.

 


	5. dancer in the street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Our characters are just dancing for the fun of it.

It’s Sunday afternoon, and Adrien has had Jagged Stone’s new song stuck in his head all day. He’s been humming it nonstop to try to get it out of his system, and he’s still humming it when he walks into the Dupain-Cheng Patisserie to buy one of his favorite croissants (his girlfriend has told him multiple times that her parents are more than willing to give them to him for free, but he always insists on paying).

Marinette’s working at the register and immediately lights up as soon as he walks in, tripping over the counter in her excitement to say hello to her boyfriend. 

“Adrien! You’re here!” 

“Salut, Marinette! How is everything?”

“Oh, you know. Regular Sunday afternoon rush. Which is to say, there’s not much going on around here.”

Marinette gestures at the seating area, which is completely deserted. 

“Since business is slow, I convinced Maman and Papa to take a break and go on a little afternoon walk. They need the fresh air!” 

Adrien smiles. He never gets tired of seeing Marinette’s wonderful relationship with her parents.

Marinette raises an eyebrow. “What is that you’re humming?”

Adrien hadn’t realized that he was still humming out loud. 

“Oh, it’s Jagged Stone’s new song. It’s been stuck in my head all day, so I started humming it.”

Marinette grins. “Maybe you should dance it off. That works for me sometimes.” 

“Dance it off?” 

“Yeah, like- imagine you’re in the music video and mouth along with the lyrics. I like to sing along usually, but maybe you shouldn’t do that part?” 

(Adrien’s tone deafness is a well known fact to the entire Dupain-Cheng household by this point in time, after several painful karaoke nights)

“Oh, Marinette. You know that’s exactly what I’m going to do now,” responds Adrien, wiggling his eyebrows seductively as he starts dancing around the empty cafe, shaking his hair back and forth as he sings every note off key. 

“Noooooooo, I’ve created a monster!” cries Marinette, covering her ears with her hands and laughing. 

Adrien dances back up to her and takes her hands off her ears with a smile.

“Come dance with me, my lady!” 

Marinette shakes her head and sticks out her tongue. “Not with that soundtrack!” 

“Okay, then,” says Adrien. He pulls out his phone and starts to play one of Marinette’s favorite songs. “How about this instead?” 

Marinette’s eyes sparkle as the song starts to play. She rushes out on the floor to join Adrien, and as he watches her twirl around in a circle, cheeks flushed and hair flying, he’s momentarily breathless. 

Because even though she might be Ladybug, he’s the lucky one.


	6. excuse me, that's mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward First Meeting AU: Hello we are full grown adults fighting over this last balloon that’s shaped like a cat's head.

Marinette hasn’t felt this way since she was six years old and Chloe Bourgeois took the last pink crayon in the classroom crayon box and broke it in half right in front of her with a smug grin on her face.

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration.

But she’s really pissed off that the tall blond guy standing in front of her—whoever he is—(she hasn’t seen his face yet, just the back of his towering head) is about to buy the last cat head balloon at the balloon counter.

That is _her_ balloon. Everyone who works at this Party City knows that Marinette comes in every Friday to buy one, and she’ll be damned if this stranger is going to take it from her. She might be 25 years old and a rising star on the Paris fashion scene, but these cat shaped balloons are her one childish indulgence every week and she’s had a very long day and SHE WANTS THAT BALLOON.

She reaches up and taps his shoulder impatiently. “Excuse me—”

He turns around, and Marinette has to physically stop her jaw from dropping open.

Because _fuck, he’s cute_.

With big green eyes and impossibly plush lips curving into a perfect smile, one that looks both perplexed and amused at Marinette’s aggressive posture.

“Yes, can I help you?”

Marinette has to focus. She needs that balloon.

“That balloon in your hand—”

“Oh, this cat one? What about it?”

“It’s mine.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve already paid for it.”

“I’ll pay you what you paid. I just need that balloon.”

The cute guy raises an eyebrow now. “I’m sorry, but it’s not for sale.”

“You don’t understand. I buy a cat head balloon here every week.”

“So why can’t you buy another one?”

“I would, but I _can’t_ , because you got the last one!”

“Well, my lady, it looks like we’re in a bit of a pickle, aren’t we? We both want this balloon, but only one of us can have it. Tell you what. I’ll let you have it on one condition.”

“Name your price.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “It’s not a price.”

Marinette huffs impatiently. She doesn’t have time for silly games. “What is it then?”

“I’d like to know your name.”

“Oh. Um, it’s Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Adrien Agreste,” says the cute guy, holding out his hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”


	7. slash and slash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: our characters are sword-fighting.

Nobody’s quite sure how the weekly after school fencing matches between Adrien and Marinette became a thing.

The one thing everyone knows is that that it initially started out as a silly bet between Alya and Nino; she’d told him one day that she was sure she could kick his ass in a fencing match, and for whatever reason, he had been in a combative mood at the time. He told his girlfriend with the conviction of a soldier that there was no way in hell she would win (even though it was common knowledge that Nino had the upper body strength of a limp noodle and Alya had been lifting increasingly heavy weights at the gym for the better part of six months).

It was at this point that Adrien had stepped in and pointed out that he was the one on the fencing team and perhaps he should be the one to take on this duel, in a valiant attempt to save his friend from actual bodily harm.

Alas, Alya, ever the opportunist, suggested that if Adrien was going to be taking Nino’s place, Marinette should take her place as well, with the flimsy excuse that Marinette’s early childhood background in gymnastics would somehow make her naturally good at fencing, ignoring Marinette’s loud protests.

And so, it all led to one Tuesday afternoon a week after the bet was made, with Adrien and Marinette facing each other in the fencing studio while Alya and Nino and several other curious members of the class watched them (namely Alix, Kim, and Chloe, who didn’t want her Adrikins to be killed by her clumsy oaf of a rival).

To everyone’s surprise, Marinette actually was a natural, advancing and parrying and passing forward with the skill of a trained professional, and even though nobody could see it underneath the fencing mask, was grinning with the determination to win.

And she won with a wave and a flourish that left everyone speechless (and Nino’s jaw hanging on the ground) except Adrien, who for some reason was wearing a wide and knowing grin as he congratulated her on the win.

As Alya and Marinette walked away afterward, the red-haired girl was burning with a million questions.

“Girl, how did you learn to fence like that in one week?”

Marinette smiled mysteriously and shrugged as she looked back at Adrien, who was patting a forlorn Nino on the back and laughing.

“Let’s just say I had a good teacher.”


	8. the long and short of it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tol Mari/Smol Adrien AU. A birthday drabble for my friend [haydentone](http://haydentone.tumblr.com)!

Marinette Dupain-Cheng thinks that Adrien Agreste is the most wonderful boy she has ever met in her life. He’s sweet, he’s kind, he’s friendly, and the best superhero partner anyone could have: he’s the Chat Noir to her Ladybug, and together, they keep Paris safe from the machinations of their nemesis, Hawk Moth, and over the past two years, they’ve become best friends…and now, perhaps, something more.

Because two weeks ago, Adrien finally asked Marinette to go out on a date with him, and she said yes.

She’s excited beyond belief. But there’s just one thing Marinette is nervous about: Adrien Agreste is five inches shorter than her, and twice as graceful.

At 5’8’, Marinette is one of the tallest girls in her class, and along with her height, she’s awkward, clumsy, and constantly knocking things over.

Adrien, on the other hand, is small, compact, and lithe—it’s no wonder he’s been given the mantle of Chat Noir, easily slipping and sliding into corners and leaping with the grace of his namesake.

He’s the yin to her yang, and Marinette truly feels like she balances him out, but there are often times where she feels like he should be with someone as small and cute as he is.

After all, it’s not like Adrien lacks any admirers—even though he’s technically too short to be a model, Gabriel Agreste is a powerful enough force in the fashion world that nobody thought to question him when he decided to make his son the face of the Agreste brand, and it’s clear that his instincts were right; Adrien is charismatic and charming, and ever since he started modeling, sales have gone off the charts.

The thing is, it’s not like they lack rapport or that Marinette is nervous being around him; three years of being his superhero partner and dealing with his horrible sense of humor has taken them well beyond that point.

It’s just one stupid little thing: she’s worried about how she’s going to go about kissing him.

Marinette has gone on dates with lots of boys; but all of them have either been her height or slightly taller than her, so she’s never actually had to worry about the actual mechanics of kissing someone with a significant height gap—especially someone shorter than her.

And she knows that all of the girls that Adrien has dated before have all been his height or shorter as well.  Is he as worried about this as she is?

Maybe not; he is a part of the fashion world, and he poses with tall, leggy models everyday.

Then again, none of those models have kissed him on the lips.

Should they sit while kissing? Find steps he can stand on to be taller than her? Should she pull out her favorite rom coms and pay attention to what the guy is doing when he kisses the girl?

Marinette really doesn’t know.

So by the time Adrien finally shows up at the bakery for their date, all smiles, she’s run through fifty different scenarios in her head, potential spots to kiss, what to do if it’s awkward, thought through all the different places she could place her hands, and she’s about to pass out from the anticipation of it all.

So nervous is she that she doesn’t even realize until they’ve arrived at the venue that he’s brought her to a concert for her favorite musician: Jagged Stone.

The sets are filled with their favorite songs, fast paced and with a wild heart, and soon, Marinette forgets to be nervous and starts enjoying herself again, remembering that’s she’s at an incredible concert with her best friend in the world and that she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.

But then Jagged starts playing a slow, romantic ballad, and all of Marinette’s nerves come rushing back like a tidal wave—until Adrien laughs sweetly and takes her hands, smiling as he feels the thrum of her rapid pulse through her fingers.

His hands are big and warm, and when he reaches up on his tiptoes to cup her cheeks, Marinette stops thinking entirely. Before she knows it, she’s carried away on waves of bliss, her arms wrapped around his waist as she leans down to press her lips against his.

And in that moment, Marinette realizes that there’s nothing simpler than this; a kiss with the one you love.


End file.
